The Meaning of “Religion”

According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word religion means “belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially the belief that they created the universe and gave human beings a spiritual nature which continues to exist after the death of the body.” Such divine beings are believed to possess supernatural power over natural existence.

The Meaning of “Religion” According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, the word religion means “belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially the belief that they created the universe and gave human beings a spiritual nature which continues to exist after the death of the body.” Such divine beings are believed to possess supernatural power over natural existence.

For example, according to Hinduism, God Brahmā created the world, God Vishnu preserves and protects it, and God Śiva or Maheśvara is the destroyer. Hinduism also teaches that these deities may remove delusion and grant salvation.

In this sense, Buddhism is not a religion in the strict definition, because it does not believe in a creator, controller, or destroyer god. However, in an extended sense especially in the context of popular Buddhism practised by many people the term religion may be used.

Theravāda Buddhism can best be defined as the teachings of the Buddha. According to Buddhism, for a person to become truly perfect, two qualities must be developed equally: compassion and wisdom.

Compassion includes love, charity, kindness, and tolerance qualities of the heart. Wisdom refers to the intellectual qualities of the mind. 9 If a person develops only compassion while neglecting wisdom, he may become a good-hearted fool. If he develops only wisdom while neglecting compassion, he may become a hard-hearted intellectual without concern for others. Therefore, both qualities must be cultivated equally. This is an important objective of the Buddhist way of life, where compassion and wisdom are inseparably linked